Which to use
“voice” and “vole” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #918
- “voice” frequency rank
- #45,158
- “vole” frequency rank
- 46076
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | voice | vole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sound uttered by the mouth, especially by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character. | Any of a large number of species of small rodents of the tribes Arvicolini, Ellobiusini, Clethrionomyini, Pliomyini, Phenacomyini and Prometheomyini. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set voice and vole apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. voice (/vɔɪs/) and vole (/vəʊl/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46076, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
voice is recorded at frequency rank #918, classified as anoun, pronounced /vɔɪs/. vole is at rank #45,158, tagged as anoun, pronounced /vəʊl/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 46076, this pair ranks #215,220 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of voice vs vole
Shared letters: eov. Private to "voice": ci. Private to "vole": l.
"voice" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "vole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "voice" and "vole" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "voice" or "vole"?
Remembering voice vs vole
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “voice” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable